r/scifi_bookclub

I listened to this audiobook around 2021 on YouTube. It's about some kind of city getting teleported or disconnected from the rest of the world and supernatural rain turning humans into goo. The plot follows some young adults having a party, and one of them attacks another person and gets tied up. Someone suggests throwing the assailant into the rain to become goo. Others say the police should handle it. The goo scattered around the city showed sentience and later combined into a singular creature. At the end, there were two protagonists, and one of them accidentally got some goo on her and told the other protagonist to survive while she herself had to accept becoming goo. It was narrated by a guy, and I have a feeling it might originally have been created on Reddit...

In 1969, at age 14, while on an extended family vacation, I picked up a book I had never heard of and read it - Stranger In a Strange Land. It has been 56 years and I have read a multitude of books including the greatest fiction ever written in the English language. I have been a dedicated reader all my life, but I have never forgotten that summer vacation and that book. I am reading it again and enjoying it immensely. I don’t need anyone’s approval, but I would like to know if my connection to this book is just emotional and sentimental or if it really is as good as I think. It won awards for a reason, but it seems to have survived the years since it was written and continues to be engaging and insightful. I am just interested in knowing if anyone else thinks it has sustained its brilliance and stands in a place of great respect in mid-20th century fiction.

I just finished Chapterhouse Dune which means I’ve officially finished Frank Herbert’s original six books.
Honestly… I loved them. I definitely have that bittersweet feeling of finishing a series that’s been living in my head for weeks, but I’m also left with SO many questions.
My ranking is probably:
*Children of Dune*
*Heretics of Dune*
*Chapterhouse: Dune*
I enjoyed *God Emperor* too, but I found it a bit slower and more philosophical than I personally prefer (I still appreciate what Herbert was doing with it).
One thing I absolutely loved about the series was how it genuinely felt like I was reading thousands of years of history. By the time I got to *Heretics* and *Chapterhouse*, the world felt completely different from the original *Dune*, but in a way that felt believable. It never felt like the universe stayed frozen in time.
Now for the questions…
Do most people think the Honored Matres are descendants of the Bene Gesserit who disappeared into the Scattering? That was my theory while reading, but I kept waiting for it to be confirmed or denied, and it never was.
What are your favourite theories about the Scattering? I almost wish we’d seen more of it because it feels like the biggest mystery in the series.
Who do you think Daniel and Marty really were?
What do you think the Honored Matres were actually running from?
And for those of you who’ve reread the series, what are some things you noticed the second time that completely changed your perspective?
I’d love to hear people’s theories because none of my friends have read *Dune*, and I finally need somewhere to nerd out about it.

If humans arrive somewhere new after generations of sacrifice, but discover another civilization already living there, who has the right to decide the future?

Hii, I have recently been getting back into reading and remembered starting Enders game a while back. I finished reading it and fell in love with it. are there any books similar to it?

any recs would be appreciated :)

For those who love Ted Chiang’s work, what do you get from his stories that you don’t get from other science fiction.

If you were recommending him to a friend who had never read him, how would you describe the appeal in your own words?

Thank you in advance for any feedback

Crompton Divided turned out to be a fun surprise. I enjoy classic science fiction, and Robert Sheckley has a way of taking an off-the-wall idea and running with it. The whole concept of a society dividing itself into more and more ridiculous groups is funny on the surface, but there's enough truth underneath that it makes you stop and think.

What I liked most was Sheckley's sense of humor. The satire never felt heavy-handed, and I found myself laughing at how seriously everyone treats situations that are completely absurd. It pokes fun at human nature without feeling like it's trying to lecture you, which I appreciated.

I did have a couple of issues with it. The characters aren't especially memorable because they're really there to support the satire more than to grow as people. I also thought a few of the jokes overstayed their welcome before Sheckley moved on to the next bizarre situation. It never took away from my enjoyment, but it did stand out.

Even so, I had a good time reading it. What impressed me most was how Sheckley could take a completely ridiculous idea and somehow make it feel like something people would actually do. That's probably why the book still feels relevant today. It isn't my favorite Sheckley novel, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction that takes an oddball idea and runs with it.

So I've always been a fan of the movie and re-watched it the other day, which led me to consider reading the novel. I devoured it. I enjoyed it so much that I read the sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two. While 2010 certainly shared much of the same cosmic scope and mystery as 2001, it barely touched on some of the themes that made the first book so special -- the Dawn of Man and evolution of consciousness, existential dread, rogue artificial intelligence and the implications of technological advancement. . .

2001 is easily one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read, and while the sequel was worthwhile, it didn't quite scratch that same itch for me. I would appreciate any thoughts and recommendations y'all may have!

Hi, RP1 was such a escapist book for me. My wife went under surgery and I needed a book to take my mind off the anxiety and found RP1 a perfect book for it. Things settles, my wife is already ok but I'm chasing that feeling. any recommendations?

I love books about games - Tomorrowx3 was a massive hit for me.